Instagram For Business
Are you Taking Advantage of these Instagram Best Practices?
Instagram is one of the world’s favorite social media platforms. Snap an interesting picture, slap on a filter, chat people up in the caption, hashtag it and you’re done! Believe it or not, using Instagram for business can develop a global following and boost your leads. You just have to know how to use Instagram for business properly. Today, in the second post of our social media series we’ll look at Insta best practices.
Instagram For Business: Best Practices
Using Instagram for business promotion, engagement, and information can attract users from around the world. In today’s business world, with reduced international shipping fees and eCommerce, this can make a business grow quickly. Here’s how to make sure your Instagram posts are doing what they need to for your business.
Make Sure You’ve Got The Right Account
Your profile should be set up as a business page. This allows you to include your location, contact options and business type. You can also link to your business on Facebook and use Instagram’s post analytics.
Hack Those Hashtags
Hashtags are a great way to get leads. When drafting your caption type in all the hashtags you’re considering. Instagram will list how many times each has been used and suggest similar hashtags based on the words. You can then use the most popular hashtags. This Instagram for business best practice allows you to cater your posts to what people are looking for already rather than take a gamble on hashtags. Believe it or not, those #tags have to be used in a particular way in order to attract the right users interested in your post.
Emote!
Everyone loves emojis. Don’t go overboard but use appropriate, clever emojis. These grab viewers eyes and make your posts more fun and casual. An emoji that expresses your brand is a simple addition to captions. Selling baked goods? Include a cake or cookie in captions. Make custom dog hoodies? Include a puppy. Another easy option is to pull something from the photo your sharing and use a matching emoji in your caption.
Tag, Tag, Tag
Tag influencers, brands, and products. If you take a picture of an beautifully organized workspace that includes a Keurig coffeemaker, tag Keurig. Brands will often react and this gets you knew viewers. Tagging others increases your views. Why? If you tag Keurig then your picture shows up on for anyone searching for them.
If A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words…
…how many are multiple pictures worth? Instagram is visual so take advantage of Instagram for business by posting collages and multi-frame pictures. This relatively new feature allows your posts to go deeper into your brand’s narrative on Instagram. For business this is huge! Product lines, behind the scenes, before and after shots — all of these drive interest.
Here, TJMaxx used three pictures in one post to show off different ways to style this trendy blue blazer.
The above use of multiple pictures in a carousel format allows users to see a visual story. Brands using Instagram to construct a narrative is gaining traction. As consumers become more focused on story it is an important connection to make. From companies that donate a pair of shoes when a pair is purchased to upcycling, consumers want to feel like their purchases are part of a larger picture.
Keep It Clever
Mix in puns and clever plays with language to keep your feed interesting. Users are also likely to share these posts more than those with no caption or a plain caption. Crafting captions is an art. Always stay in line with your brand’s vision and use language that is within your aesthetic.
Use Analytics
Track your data! What do your posts that get lots of love have in common? What about the ones that fall flat? Do more of what works and quit wasting time on things that don’t to run your Instagram for business account efficiently and effectively.
Location, Location, Location
It’s not only important in real estate! Include your location when posting. This personalizes your company and location is searchable so your posts will show up when a user checks Instagram locally.
Taking your employees to happy hour? Instagram a group shot, tag the bar, add the location and show your audience the behind-the-scenes of your company. These peeks at culture influence consumers who want to know that employees are happy.
Stay On Top Of Posts
You can use a scheduler to keep posts coming at a steady rate. Or, if you prefer, use Instagram’s draft feature. Create posts as you think of them and save them as drafts. When you need to push a post just select one and publish. This is a great way to take care of posts during busy times or when you’re not feeling inspired.
While the conventional wisdom says that you shouldn’t overshare on social media, brands and instagram follow a different set of rules. Union Metrics performed a study on post frequency on Instagram and as Forbes summed up: it’s pretty hard to post “too much” in Instagram. Just make sure your posts follow these Instagram for business best practices.
Host a Contest
There are people out there who love contests just for the sake of contests. They are called sweepers and they’re a great way to get traffic. Contests are also a great way to introduce people to your brand and get them hooked by giving away samples along with any other prizes you have in mind. Contests boost engagement, are a fun way to show appreciation for customers, and to create buzz about your brand. Here’s how to run a successful Instagram Contest.
Social media is vital to your business. Start using Instagram for business using these best practices. Already got a business Instagram? Make sure you’re using it in the best way with these tips. And don’t forget, Digital Firefly Marketing provides free social media audits and a range of social media services. Stay tuned for a follow up post where we share the accounts that nail each of these best practices so that you can follow them for inspiration.